New Memoir ‘Fighting for Road Apples’ Recounts Story of Sudeten Germans

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Society should look to the past and acknowledge that war brings out the worst in people and leaves horror and destruction.

Bloomington, IN (PRWEB)June 19, 2014

Author Erika C. Stevenson desires to give a voice to the Sudeten Germans, an oft-forgotten group who experienced hatred and xenophobia already present after World War I, and the final solution of ethnic cleansing following WW II. In her new book, “Fighting for Road Apples: A Memoir” (published by iUniverse), Stevenson chronicles her personal experiences as a German in Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic).

The Sudeten Germans were ethnic Germans living in Bohemia. Following World War II, the Czechoslovakian government held these Germans responsible for what the country endured under Nazi rule. As a five-year old child, Stevenson faced hatred for being a “Němec” – a Czech word for Germans. She experiences hunger and witnesses the brutal killing of her beloved pets. Her people are forced to wear the letter “N” on their sleeves to signify they are a Němec. They are forced to walk on the street, not the sidewalk, and be off the street by 7:00 p.m. They were not allowed to use any public transportation; their cars were confiscated, and their native language forbidden in public.

At the end of WW II, the Czech President returned from exile and immediately started the process of ethnic cleansing. The Sudeten Germans were stripped of their possessions and expelled from their Homelands. Several thousand were murdered. Many died as a result of hunger or illness associated with being a refugee. “Fighting for Road Apples” presents Stevenson’s experiences as a young girl facing hatred.

Stevenson thought too many history books neglected to acknowledge the existence of over three million Germans who were persecuted regardless of any actual association with the Nazi party. She hopes her book will bring attention to these events, which she feels are overlooked in many school curriculums.

“Society should look to the past,” Stevenson says, “and acknowledge that war brings out the worst in people and leaves horror and destruction.”

About the Author
Erika Stevenson was born in Bohemia, Czech Republic. She and her husband live in Bloomington, Ind., but spend their summers in Vermont where she paints, writes, and gardens. She is currently working on a sequel to “Fighting for Road Apples.”

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